Enforcer Manual
Chapter 767 - 765: The Call from Afar_1

Chapter 767: Chapter 765: The Call from Afar_1

After the meeting concluded, Lu Xiang and Song Lan went their separate ways, one heading to the garbage dump to investigate the existence of the Mechanical Cult, while the other lay down in bed to sleep.

However, this time, Song Lan emphasized that he was not slacking off but was handling important matters.

At this very moment, the "Emperor" at Silvermoon Harbor was also busy with important affairs.

He had a private meeting with Kunka.

At first, the rebel leader of the Expeditionary Army was full of caution and hostility towards him, but after he revealed his purpose, Kunka thought it over and ultimately set aside their grudges against the United Government to address the issues before them.

"Half a month ago, I met with Archbishop Helifis and the commander of the First Army Corp of the Barrosa Group. They hoped we could establish a defensive line along the coastal area with Silvermoon Harbor as the center," Kunka said gravely.

He had been busy with the construction of the coastal defenses, but the "Emperor" brought more bad news.

An unknown mechanical plague had invaded Silvermoon Harbor, and Father Godel, chosen by the Tidal Church as their representative, became one of the infected subjects. His heart, hollowed out, had mutated into a gear assembly, marking a transition from flesh to machine.

And Father Godel himself was selected by the Tidal Church as the representative in Silvermoon Harbor.

Helifis claimed that the deity of the tides they served, the mutant constructs in the mines, and that "Whisper" from the Void were related; it could very likely be another of Father God’s masterpieces, just like the plants ravaging The First Region.

Its existence might even predate that of humanity.

"What do you plan to do?"

He presented these conundrums to the "Emperor," curious to hear how a Six Stars rescuer of the United Government would decide when faced with such vexing issues.

"Prepare a boat for me, I need to take to the sea," the "Emperor" revealed his intent.

Since leaving District Seventeen, it had been a long time since he had heard the voice of the "genius mechanic girl". She seemed to be giving him the silent treatment as if she were sulking, and so he had no choice but to trust his own instincts and head for the Misty Archipelago.

The fleeing high-level councilors had already reached their destination, and his intuition told him that the answers he sought were hidden there.

"You want to set sail?"

Kunka could hardly believe his ears. Archbishop Helifis and the commander of the First Army Corp of the Barrosa Group had repeatedly warned him not to sail, as unknown dangers lurked there, "No offense, but that is not a wise decision. Rather than throwing your life away, you would be better off staying at the port to help us strengthen our defenses."

He believed that with the addition of the "Emperor," the local defense forces would be elevated to a new level.

"I have made up my mind,"

the "Emperor" said flatly, unfazed by danger and harboring persistent doubts about the death of the botanist Trian.

Someone didn’t want Trian to share the secrets she knew with him.

"It seems you’re not one to heed advice... Very well, I can arrange a ship and supplies for you, but as for crossing the unknown sea regions, that will be up to your own skills,"

"Thanks."

After parting with Kunka, the "Emperor" began to prepare for his sea voyage.

He enlisted the "Seagull" to find a sailor from the Tidal Church who had made it through the unknown sea regions before. The sailor’s fee, of course, was high—enough for an ordinary person to leave these perilous lands and live out their days in a peaceful small town.

The "Seagull" did not come to bid him farewell.

As far as she was concerned, this mission was like signing one’s own death warrant, only those who thought "I’ll make it through this one and then retire" would take such a risk.

As for the "Emperor," she was at a loss for words with this stubborn man.

She truly hoped that he would stay in Silvermoon Harbor for a long time and consider it his home.

"Clothes, food, water, and a box of rum..."

The man, just over forty with a hook nose, murky eyes, and a frame as thin as a scarecrow, checked the ship’s supplies and said ominously, "This won’t do, you’re missing some of the most critical items."

"What items?"

"Sacrifices."

His murky eyes suddenly sparkled, "Only sacrifices can guide us on the path set by the deity of the tides."

Sacrifices again?

Back in The First Region, members of the Fisherboat Club consistently used innocent corporate employees as sacrifices to their "deity", and Trian referred to this ritual as the rite of deification.

Then, it suddenly dawned on him that the name of the Fisherboat Club itself was intimately connected to the sea; perhaps the believers of the Tidal Church had also completed the rite of deification on this land and shared their successful experiences with the councilors far away in The First Region.

At the very depths of these seas, there might reside a deity that had achieved full deification.

After a pause, the "Emperor" said, "We have no sacrifices, this is all the supplies we have."

"No sacrifices?"

The Tidal Church sailor widened his eyes, "The Master would not be pleased to hear such an answer, listen you lump of iron, this isn’t a negotiation, without sacrifices we will definitely not reach the Misty Archipelago. As for sacrifices... the Master prefers those under 20, the tender and delicate kind."

He certainly wanted to make a big score, but that didn’t mean he relished the thought, "There are plenty of orphans in Silvermoon Harbor, taking one won’t be noticed. If you really can’t find an orphan, just snatch one from any household, that shouldn’t be difficult for you."

"I’ve said, we’ll set sail without a sacrifice,"

"That won’t do, I’m not about to follow you to my death. You have no idea what could happen if we anger the Master!"

The sailor glared steadfastly at "The Emperor," internally pondering the possibility of not returning the payment. After all, he had shown the outsider the way, yet this layman had refused to heed the advice of an expert.

"I’ll go with you."

As the two were at a standoff, a familiar voice reached their ears.

Turning towards the source, "The Emperor" saw Diago, with a large pack on his back, appearing on the midnight wharf. He was wearing a battered cloak, his face half-covered.

"Isn’t that someone?"

The sailor whistled, welcoming Diago’s arrival with open arms. He guessed that the kid had probably not heard their earlier conversation and was treating this as just another ocean voyage, "Kid, you came at just the right time, we’re about to set sail."

"The Emperor" stood between Diago and the ship, "Go back."

He had seen everything at the Spirit Troupe, including how Diago’s companion was thrown into the sea as a sacrifice.

He was on his way to the Misty Archipelago in search of the truth, but he was not about to make an innocent harbor orphan his sacrifice.

"This is the Father God’s guidance. He will ensure our safe arrival at the Misty Archipelago."

With a resolute gaze, Diago said, "Even if you refuse to take me with you, I’ll find a way to reach the Misty Archipelago on my own."

"The Emperor" found the situation increasingly delicate.

Flesh and blood deity, mechanical plague, and now a person regarded by the Spirit Troupe as the Father God.

The conflict between the three sides was about to be brought into the open.

But first, he had to make one thing clear, "Are you referring to your ’Father God,’ or His messenger?"

"This mission was given to me directly by the Father God himself, who also taught everyone how to make seaweed rice balls,"

As he said this, Diago proudly produced a bag which was the fruit of their afternoon’s labor.

This was everyone’s preparation for his voyage.

Even though the rice balls looked like simple food, they genuinely felt the presence of the Father God among them, unlike the distant deities of legend, the Father God stepped into their lives.

The method of making seaweed rice balls...

Looking at the rice balls in Diago’s hands with a mix of amusement and dismay, "The Emperor" acknowledged that this indeed seemed to be the style of their Father God. But to let a child, recently recovered from a serious injury, go to sea?

Had he misjudged Him? Was He actually just as cold and heartless as any other deity?

"Hurry up, do you want to dawdle until dawn?"

The impatient sailor of the Tidal Church urged them on, fearing that "The Emperor" might scare away this sacrifice that had shown up at their doorstep, especially since this mechanical creature seemed not quite clever.

"The Emperor" ignored the sailor and asked, "Can you still hear His voice now?"

"I can hear it."

Diago said, "Father God tells me to board the ship."

Seeing his determination, "The Emperor" had to give in eventually, as he understood these orphans. Even if he had left Diago on the shore, the latter might still find another ship to sail out to sea alone.

With the roar of the engines, the ship left the dock.

The two stayed in the cabin, with Diago sharing a rice ball his companions had prepared for him with "The Emperor." Though the rice ball was not complex in craftsmanship or materials, the built-in operating system in his head appraised it as "deliciously rare."

A surprising quietness filled the cabin. They all knew this was the calm before the storm, with only the sailor left on deck, conducting some worship ceremony they could not comprehend.

The quietness did not last long. As the silhouette of Silvermoon Harbor faded away, the sky above them changed as well.

Red clouds engulfed their heads, the scarlet orb behind the clouds made it impossible to tell whether it was the sun or the moon.

The eerie red light spilled over the sea.

Soon after, exclamations from the sailor came from outside the cabin.

"The Emperor" was the first to burst out of the room and found the terrified sailor standing at the edge of the deck, staring fearfully at the sea. Moving forward, he saw something drifting slowly toward them with the waves.

From its exposed parts, it wasn’t hard to guess how massive the creature must be.

"The Emperor" readied himself for battle, watching as the creature drew nearer and then... brushed past the entire ship. As it floated by the side of the ship, he saw that it was indeed part of some unknown sea creature, or more accurately, part of its body.

This piece appeared to have been cut out by some sharp object; his artificial eye also sharply captured explosives stuck in the flesh and some mechanical parts he had never seen before.

It was then that the panic-stricken sailor finally caught his breath, shouting at them in a mix of shock and anger, "Someone, someone has killed the Master’s messenger. Who did this? Who in the world?"

Before his voice had died away, more and more "floating objects" began to approach them on the sea.

They lay still, scattered quietly across the sea surface, evidently lifeless.

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